WESTFIELD – In an economy ravaged by downsizing and shrinking revenues, Savage Sports Holdings has managed to do just the opposite.

The privately-held company, a part of Westfield’s history since the early 1960s, boasts 294 employees at its plant and headquarters here – a 30 percent increase from last year.

The company, organized as Savage Arms in Utica, N.Y., in 1894 by Arthur Savage, operates plants in Eugene, Ore., and Lakefield, Ontario, Canada, and has a total of about 700 employees.

Revenue here at the industry’s largest bolt-action rifle maker in the industry, meanwhile, is up 27 percent over the same period.

That growth, according to Albert F. Kasper, president and chief operating officer of Savage, is largely due to the company’s Axis model of low-cost rifles, which debuted last March.

“It’s a major home run,” Kasper said.

Low-cost is the operative word here for the Axis series’ success, in a flat-lining economy in which consumers shy away from as high-end hunting and target-shooting rifles that can approach $1,000 or more.

“We designed a brand-new rifle to be the most cost-efficient that we could produce,” Kasper said.

Axis rifles start at $279 to $299, and they account for 17 percent of the company’s growth. The 350,000 square-foot plant here can put out a new Axis rifle every minute.

The low cost, however, does not impinge on the accuracy for which Savage rifles are known, company officials say.

“Savage arms has a reputation for the guns being ‘tack-drivers’ right out of the box,” said Eoin B. Stafford, vice president and general manager of Savage Range Systems, a division established in 1992 that sells shooting ranges and bullet traps.

Although hunting, the mainstay of Savage’s revenues, has been in long-term decline, the last two years have seen increases in the number of hunting licenses issued across the United States, Kasper said.

The hunting tradition that powers Savage is obvious as soon as one walks in the front door. The plant’s lobby has the look of a well-appointed hunting lodge with numerous game trophies and representatives of the various firearms that Savage has made over the years, on display.

Although the company currently has no active military program and has limited firearm sales to law enforcement, it does business with both through Savage Range Systems.

What Kasper described as the “Obama factor,” the fear of tighter guns that spike whenever a Democrat is elected president, last year’s Supreme Court ruling that favored gun owners rights, also sparked sales.

“That has gotten many new people, who never owned a gun to buy a gun,” Kasper said.

Other new products for the remaining 10 percent increase in revenue, he said.

The company manufactures archery equipment, primarily the Bowtech and Diamond brands at its Oregon plant and small-caliber-rim-fire rifles in Ontario.

The company has long been known for it’s innovation. Arthur Savage kicked off the company with the invention of what became known as the Model 99, the first “hammerless” lever action rifle with the entire mechanism enclosed in a steel receiver.

Much like the Axis series, the Model 99 was designed to be affordable, according to a company history posted on its website.

Jeffrey Daley, advancement officer for the city of Westfield, said the company’s entrepreneurial spirit has clearly been a driving force in its success.

“They sit down, they look at their books, they figure out what they need to do to expand and what their customers have come to expect,” Daley said. “It’s pure entrepreneurialism at its best.”

“They have prided themselves on keeping their manufacturing line very innovative and very current,” added state Sen. Michael R. Knapik, R-Westfield.

Savage made Lewis machine guns during World War l and, during that time, acquired or merged a number of other firearms companies, including J. Stevens Arms, based in Chicopee Falls, which it purchased in 1920.

At that time, Savage Arms was the largest firearms manufacturer in the free world, according to its website. Kasper said Savage also takes pride in its customer service. At least 85 percent of the returns sent back to the factory here are resolved and returned to the customers within five to seven 7 business days.

“The firearms industry as a whole is very passionate very brand-loyal,” said Kasper. “We have been pretty successful in changing that loyalty from other brands to ours.”

The production line at Savage is a very busy place as employees turn raw materials, including such things as 18-feet steel rods, destined to become rifle barrels, into firearms ready to be boxed and shipped out the door.

To do so, it uses a variety of technologies, from computerized numerical control machines with extremely high tolerances to the straightening of the barrels by hand.

“It’s nice to take raw materials and make it into something and do it in the United States,” said Michael Gibbs, director of manufacturing. “We take a lot of pride in that.”